Organizational Artifacts

Organizational Artifacts

The culture of an organization is really its personality or, as some would say, "how things are done around here". Culture is comprised of the assumptions, values, norms and tangible signs, better known as artifacts, of an organizations member and their behaviors. Members of an organization soon come to sense the particular culture of its own organization as it is one of those terms that difficult to express distinctly, but everyone knows it when they sense it. A cultural artifact is a man-made object which inherently gives information about the culture of its creator and users. The artifact(s) may change over time in what it represents, how it appears and how or why it is used as the culture changes over time.

The United States Navy has a very well known, rich cultural history. Established 230 years ago, the Navy has many culture significances and artifacts which are still around today. It could be said that almost every piece of the Navy and its culture may very well be considered as an artifact. Yes, some of them are actual artifacts in archeological terms such as the sunken ships, immortalizing Pearl Harbor, in Hawaii. Some might disagree and suggest that they are tombs and have nothing to do with culture; I would disagree. Those ships still signify the bravery, loyalty and sacrifice of all the men and women lost, forever changing history and the culture of the Navy.

The Navy uniforms are another undeniable part of its rich culture. For many decades, the dress blue uniform has been one of the most recognizable and visible pieces of Navy culture in history. Sailors proudly wear their dress uniforms when disembarking for liberty in foreign and domestic ports. With their white "crackerjack" hat slightly tilted, off the ship they go to display their patronage and represent the United States of America. The tradition is as strong today as it was 150 years ago and everyone around the world knows a sailor when they see one.

Another artifact of naval culture is the Navy Jack. The jack is flown from the bow of the ship and the ensign (a.k.a. the American flag) from the stern when the ship is moored or anchored. When underway, the ensign is flown from the main mast. The former naval jack was a blue field with 50 white stars, identical to the canton of the ensign, both in appearance and size. A jack of similar design was first used in 1794, though with 13 stars arranged in a 3-2-3-2-3 pattern. The naval jack of the United States is the First Navy Jack, first used during the American Revolutionary War. On May 31, 2002, Secretary of the Navy Gordon England directed all U.S. naval ships to fly the First Navy Jack for the duration of the War on Terrorism. Many ships chose to shift colors on September 11, 2002(Navy.com).

Naval jargon is artifact which no one can dispute. A distinct jargon has developed among sailors over the course of the last four centuries and is spoken by American sailors as a normal part of their daily speech. I should know; I used it almost everyday for ten years. There are three distinct components of naval jargon:

 Words that are unique to sailing and have no use in standard English, such as yardarm, bow, and stern. We also refer to walls as bulkhead and the water foundation as a scuttlebutt

 Archaic English that remains common in naval jargon, such as "aye (meaning yes)

 Modern jargon, such as "bird" to refer to a missile

This "language" is an excellent example of Navy culture. When sailors use or even hear this jargon, it let's them know that someone else shares the same values and norms as they do.

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